1: a folding umbrella-shaped device of light fabric used especially for making a safe jump from an aircraft2: something (as the bunch of hairs on a dandelion seed) that is like a parachute in form, use, or operation

How do you use it?

Rafael plans to enroll in a skydiving school and learn to operate a parachute so that one day he can do a solo freefall.

Are you a word wiz?

"Parachute" was formed by modeling it on another word. Which word below do you was the model for "parachute"? (Hint: Its root word means "to shield.")

A. balloon

B. umbrella

C. parasol

D. canopy

"Parasol" derives from the Italian word "parasole," a word that perfectly describes a parasol's function. "Parasole" -- meaning "a lightweight umbrella used as a sunshade" -- is a combination of Old Italian "parare," meaning "to shield" (from Latin "parare," meaning "to prepare") and "sole," meaning "sun" (from Latin "sol," meaning "sun"). "Parasole" was adopted into English through French in the mid-1660s in the form "parasol." Roughly 100 years later, "parachute" dropped into English. Another word that perfectly describes the object's function, French speakers coined "parachute," modeling the "para-" on "parasol," and combining it with "chute," meaning "fall."